Tuba Skinny at the Festival

We timed our arrival in Lafayette, LA, to coincide with the 28th Annual Festival International de Louisiane*. This is the third time we have attended this Festival which occupies much of the city’s activity for five days.

The largest outdoor, free Francophone event in the U.S., the Festival places special emphasis on highlighting the connections between Acadiana and the Francophone world. We have been introduced to several new performers during our attendance—Suroît, from the Magdalene Islands, an archipelago in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; Bodh’aktan, from Quebec; and two groups this year—one from New Orleans and one from Prince Edward Island.

Today, we cover the “local” group—Tuba Skinny.

Their bio reads: “Formed in 2009, Tuba Skinny has evolved from a loose collection of street musicians into a solid ensemble dedicated to bringing the traditional New Orleans sound to audiences around the world. Drawing on a wide range of musical influences—from spiritual to Depression-era blues, from ragtime to traditional jazz their sound evokes the rich musical Orleans home.”

The beautiful, captivating voice of the group’s lead singer, Erika Lewis, had a melancholy quality that quickly drew me into the group’s music.

But it was the tuba playing of Todd Burdick and Barnabus Jones’ trombone that had me ready to join the Second Line stream of people weaving up and down the local side streets, following this First Line group of musicians.

With my limited knowledge of the music of New Orleans in the 1920s and the meaning of the presence of Second Lines, I thought that Second Lines were associated with funerals and that Tuba Skinny’s sound was more reminiscent of a band accompanying a hearse and mourners on the way to the cemetery.

This is not to say that the music was funereal, because I enjoyed every note of Erika's and the musicians'.

As I studied the faces of the band members, I could see serious expressions on their faces as they approached their performance.

But it was the group’s collective expression that seemed to say, “I can’t wait to get back to busking on Royal.”

But, again, the music grabbed me and would not let go. The music of old New Orleans performed by skilled performers cut through the years and took me back to what the Big Easy was like in the 1920s.

Their first appearance showed such an intense interpretation of the city’s music that we caught a second performance the next day.

In an interview at beat.com.au/music/tuba-skinny, the washboard player, Robin Rapuzzi, explained that this music history is what compelled them all to move to the city.

“I’ve always been a fan of traditional music and early roots Americana, which New Orleans is a big part of.

“Even if we have a really big schedule of shows, Tuba Skinny always try to find time to play on the street, no matter where we are. Being a performer in general, and travelling and making a spectacle of yourself, definitely allows for conversations about all sorts of things with strangers. But being a street performer makes that conversation even greater because playing on the street you talk to all walks of life. I’ve definitely realized a lot by travelling and playing this music in other countries. I’m really lucky to be a part of this project.”

And we felt lucky to be in the audience at their performances.


*The Festival was held about two weeks ago, but our blog entries are usually about that far behind our actual whereabouts.